Medieval Manuscripts from the National Museum Library

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The National Museum Library (NML) digitised another three medieval manuscripts in 2018. The oldest of them is Glossa ordinaria (XVI A 3) from the second quarter of the 14th century, a part of a larger set that used to belong to Augustinian Canons in Roudnice nad Labem. The illuminated missal from the Prague diocese XVI A 12, also referred to as the Missal of the Priest Silvester, was made in the last third of the 14th century. The breviary XVI A 2 was written in the first third of the 15th century and probably came to the NML collections from the monastery of Augustinian Canons in Rokycany.

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From the collections of the Regional Museum in Teplice, a thematically homogeneous collection of five codices, probably coming from the last third of the 17th century, was digitised in 2019. One of the manuscripts is written in Latin and contains ‘statuta philosophorum incognitorum’ and an unfinished copy of leafs written by the alchemist Michael Sendivogius; the others mostly use French and comprise sets of alchemical, medical, chemical, technical, and other guidelines and procedures. All codices are connected with the stay and activities of the alchemist Bartolomeus Mencelius at the castle in Teplice in the last third of the 17th century, after which they became part of the castle library of the Clary-Aldringen family.

The Regional Museum and Gallery in Most has provided access to a manuscript referred to as the Unfortunate Hymnal from Most from its collections. The codex contains hymns for the Mass, but also for the Liturgy of the Hours. It was made for the brotherhood of Corpus Christi and the Virgin Mary at the church of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Most. Based on a contract from 27 July 1537, the town of Most commissioned the making of the codex to the scribe and illuminator Jakub from Pilsen. The manuscript was to be completed by 15 October 1538. In fact, however, it was not handed over to the users until May 1544. It has been damaged by the cutting out of a number of leaves of the manuscript, including all with illuminated decoration.

From the Regional Museum in Mikulov, another five codices and their parts have been digitised. A copy of the theological dictionary Floretus, which, according to Czech marginal glosses, was written in the Czech lands (MIK 6373), is dated to the year 1416. Parts of the theological dictionary MIK 6369 are dated as well, specifically to 1475. Fragments of a missal from the 14th–15th centuries are deposited under the shelf mark MIK 6391. Modern manuscripts are represented by a copy of a part of the Third Order of Saint Francis (MIK 6390) and a collection of legal texts (MIK 6371).

In 2019, the library of the Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians at Strahov provided access to 36 modern manuscripts and one early printed book – the Chronicle of Bohemia by Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (Pope Pius II), which was translated and in 1510 printed by Mikuláš Konáč of Hodíštkov (shelf mark DR IV 10). The digitised manuscripts are deposited under shelf marks DA I–DA III and come from between the 17the and 19th centuries. They are varied in their content as well, including e.g. a set of liturgical manuscripts of Premonstratensian provenance, some acquired as late as in the 19th century in the area of present-day Germany; scientific treatises in the fields of natural sciences and the humanities (e.g. by the geologist Jan Tadeáš Antonín Peithner of Lichtenfels and the art historian Jan Jakub Quirin Jahn); a binder’s volume of letters by Jesuit missionaries and their copies (DA II 15); poems and short stories; a copy of works of music by the Cistercian Johann Georg Vogt (DA II 20); an illuminated Kunst-Buch der Pferde (DA II 22); copies of theological works and lectures coming from the Prague Archiepiscopal Seminary; records of lectures and sermons given by Bernard Bolzano in 1808–1818; copies of various prints and other texts.

Another group of digitised documents from the NL CR comprises 19 medieval codices. The oldest of them is manuscript IV.D.7, which was mostly written around the middle of the 11th century in the scriptorium of the Břevnov monastery, the earliest documented scriptorium in the Czech lands; it contains homilies on the Gospels by Pope Gregory I. The other codices also come from the Czech lands. They were written in the 13th–15th centuries. They include theological works (i.a. by the Church Fathers Augustine, Jerome, Gregory and Isidore of Seville), Biblical exegeses (e.g. by Haimo of Auxerre, Honorius of Autun, Nicholas of Lyra, Nicholas of Gorran), preaching and to a lesser extent ecclesiastical-legal texts, rhetorical, astronomical and philosophical texts. Liturgical manuscripts are represented by a breviary from the second half of the 13th century (IV.D.9), which was, based on some rubrics, most likely used at the church of St Vitus at Prague Castle. Illuminated manuscripts include IV.D.10 (a figural initial depicting the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, with two figures on the sides) and IV.E.19 (ornamental initials).

The North Bohemian Museum in Liberec digitised four modern manuscripts and a set of 27 official documents in 2018. The oldest manuscript is a workbook of poetics and grammar from the middle of the 17th century (Inv. No. ST 1753). Documents of official agenda comprise i.a. a book of the guild of drapers from Herrieden from 1729–1787 (Inv. No. ST 703) and the certificate of completed studies issued for Johann Georg Mayer (Inv. No. ST 241). The museum has further provided access to a set of guild statutes, baptismal certificates, vocational certificates, receipts and other documents (Inv. No. ST 143) from North Bohemia in 1527–1802.

In 2018, the library of the Benedictine Abbey in Rajhrad, administered by the Museum of the Brno Region, digitised five manuscripts, four of which were medieval. The oldest of them is a breviary (R 598), which was commissioned by the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec Heidenreich in 1308. The Golden Legend by Blessed Jacobus da Varagin (R 350) comes from the first half of the 14th century as well. Another two manuscripts, containing a commentary on the Rule of St Benedict (R 348) and a part of a breviary (R 591), were written in the second half and at the end of the 14th century. Modern manuscripts are represented by the World Chronicle by Jan Nepomuk Klassing (R 356) from 1771, accompanied by numerous pen-and-ink drawings.

The Town Museum and Gallery Polička has provided access to a printed book from 1576 (K 355). It is Kancionál český, a Czech Hymnbook or a Book of Evangelical Spiritual Songs by Jakub Kunvaldský, with adjoined Nešpor český, a Czech Book of Vesper Prayers Consisting of the Psalms of David by the same author. The beginning and end of the printed book have not been preserved and have been complemented by hand; further manuscript additions include A Song about the Prophetess Sibylla and other excerpts at the beginning of the volume.

Most of the recently digitised documents from the National Library of Medicine in Prague comprise printed theses defended at the Faculty of Medicine of the Prague university between 1682 and 1749. The manuscripts are represented by a medical anthology from the 18th century (T 277), including recipes, descriptions of the medicinal effects of plants, a treatise on bloodletting and other texts, and by a veterinary anthology from the 17th–18th centuries (T 333).

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Manuscriptorium Project

The Manuscriptorium project is creating a virtual research environment providing access to all existing digital documents in the sphere of historic book resources (manuscripts, incunabula, early printed books, maps, charters and other types of documents). These historical resources, otherwise scattered in various digital libraries around the world, are now available under a single digital library interface.